| Title: | Soccer |
| Year: | 1993 |
Dave Gregory, 1993, Soccer
Dave Gregory was an exceptional three sport varsity athlete excelling in soccer, indoor track, and baseball. To confirm his position among the elite Brewer High School athletes, his class voted him to receive the Leslie M. Ohmart Male Athlete of the Year Award for 1993.
Gregory, deemed one of the best soccer players in school history, was a force on the soccer field and he is the first male soccer player to be inducted into the Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a four-year varsity starter and gifted defensive back. According to his coach Mike Jeffrey, “David was a key defender playing the position of sweeper and with his speed he was rarely beaten.” He was selected as a member of the PVC All-Conference Team three times and, during his junior and senior years, he was selected as a member of the Maine All-State and All-New England Teams. At the time of his graduation, he was the only male soccer player in Maine history to earn All-New England status twice. An outstanding leader, he served as a co-captain during his junior and senior years. In 1991 and 1992, the Brewer Boys’ Soccer Team was the Eastern Maine Class A runner-up. Soccer is a team sport but many felt that Gregory’s effort, skill and leadership carried the team to that tournament level, the highest level achieved in Brewer soccer history. Gregory also represented Brewer and played in the 1992 Maine State Coaches Association Senior Bowl. From 1990 to 1992, he represented Maine in the Olympic Development Program and he is the first Brewer soccer player selected for such an honor. The Olympic Development Program seeks to identify players of the highest caliber for the purpose of increasing success of the U.S. national teams. Gregory was recruited by the University of Maine and played Division I soccer for the Black Bears during the 1993-1996 seasons. He remains the only Brewer High School graduate to play soccer all four years at the University of Maine.
Gregory’s speed on the soccer field transferred well to the track. He made a name for himself as the fastest Brewer freshman ever tying the school record held by Paul Elkin (2018 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee) in the 60yd dash, sprinting 6.8 seconds. He also set the freshman triple jump school record of 35'11.5”. In 1991, he helped his relay team set a school record in the 4 x 220 yd relay and place 1st at the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League Championships. At the 1992 EMITL Championship, he was the champion in the 60 yd dash as well as the 300 yd. run and named the EMITL Championship Top Performer; he is one of only five Brewer male athletes in 40 years to win this prestigious award. He was Brewer’s top overall scorer for the team in 1992; in fact, he scored all of Brewer’s points at the 1992 Class A State Meet. He was also the 60 yd. dash champion at the EMITL Championships his senior year and served as a team leader his junior and senior year. Gregory’s coach David Jeffrey remarked, “he was our best athlete and competitor, always performing at his best on the biggest stages. He goes down in the annuls of Brewer Indoor track as one of the greatest sprinters ever.” At the time of his graduation, he had run the 2nd fastest 60 yd dash (6.6) in school history.
As a four-year center fielder on the Brewer High School Baseball Team, Gregory was a strong hitter and great defensive man which resulted in Gregory being selected to the 1993 All-State Baseball Team. His speed, which made him a dominant force on the soccer field and track, contributed significantly to his success in baseball. Gregory’s baseball coach Rich Kimball recalls Gregory’s incredible ability to steal bases. “He was never thrown out!” Kimball exclaims.
Dave Gregory is one of those rare individuals who was identified by all of his high school coaches as possessing extraordinary athletic skills, leadership qualities and was a genuine pleasure to coach. His leadership skills were also evident outside of athletics. His classmates elected him to serve as President of the Junior Class. He also excelled academically, as evidenced by his selection to the National Honor Society.
Gregory graduated from the University of Maine in 1997 with a B.S. degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education. He serves as Director of Education of the Rocky Mountain Division of the Professional Ski and Snow Boarding Instructors of America. He lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with his wife, Suzanne, and their baby boy, Sam, born in July 2019.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INDUCTION AND ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF DAVE GREGORY
Dave Gregory and presenter Mike Jeffrey